On March 7, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its annual report analyzing the effects on revenue and spending of the President’s budget proposals. The report was yet another blow to the President’s proposals for additional tax cuts.

Committee for Economic Development (CED) Opposes the President?s Plan (03/10/2003)
The Committee for Economic Development (CED), an influential organization of business leaders and educators, released a report on March 5, 2003, titled "Exploding Deficits, Declining Growth: The Federal Budget and the Aging of America."

JCT Report Calculates Total Costs of President?s Latest Tax Cut Proposals (03/10/2003)

On March 4, the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) released its estimates of the costs of the tax provisions contained in the President’s FY 2004 budget proposal. Since the President’s Budget proposal is just that – a proposal – these analyses are important for providing a neutral examination of these policy changes that can permanently affect the federal government’s resources.

CBO Issues Analysis of Options for Repeal and Reform of Estate Tax (03/10/2003)

As part of its annual look at budget scenarios, which includes a wide array of tax and revenue options, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently released an analysis of four different options for the estate tax and the revenue effects of each option.

FERC's Final CEII Rule (03/10/2003)
On March 3, 2003, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) published in the Federal Register its final rule restricting access to critical energy infrastructure information (CEII) and establishing new procedures outside of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for requesting access. FERC began this process in response to the terrorist acts committed on September 11, 2001, and published its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on September 13, 2002, to obtain public comments.

Data Quality Cases and Decisions Begin to Mount (03/10/2003)
As the first challenges under the Data Quality Act are being decided and appeals are being considered, new industry challenges are being filed: recently two data quality challenges to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have been decided at least in part; and two new challenges have been filed, one also with the EPA and another with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA).

OMB Watch Comments Oppose Rule Allowing Federal Funding for Church Buildings (03/10/2003)
On January 6 the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) proposed new regulations implementing the President’s December 12, 2002, Executive Order requiring “equal treatment” of faith-based organizations in the federal grant process. The proposal is similar to regulations proposed last month by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). However, they go further, allowing religious organizations to partially fund construction, acquisition or rehabilitation of structures to be used for both religious and government funded purposes. OMB Watch opposed this proposal, writing, "This is a can of worms that should not be opened."

Congress, OMB Won't Deliver on Bush's AmeriCorps Promises (03/10/2003)
Despite rhetorical support for AmeriCorps from the Bush administration, Congressional Republicans and the Office of Management and Budget have effectively halved the number of AmeriCorps volunteers for this year.

Air Toxics Rule Approved Without 'Risk-Based' Exemptions (03/10/2003)
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved a final rule February 28 establishing air toxics limits for the brick and clay industry that does not include controversial provisions exempting lower-risk facilities from control.

EPA Issues Guidelines for Assessing Cancer Risks (03/10/2003)
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently issued near final guidelines for agency scientists and other risk assessors to use in assessing cancer risks from chemicals or other environmental agents.

EPA Report Finds Mercury a Growing Threat to Children's Health (03/10/2003)
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released its long-awaited report on children’s health and the environment, ("America’s Children and the Environment: Measures of Contaminants, Body Burdens, and Illnesses"), finding that mercury emissions pose an increasing threat to children.

Clean Air Rollback Takes Effect As Legal Challenges Move Forward (03/10/2003)
Fourteen states and a coalition of five environmental health organizations have launched legal challenges to the Bush administration’s overhaul of the Environmental Protection Agency’s New Source Review program, which relaxes limits on air pollution from factories, refineries, and power plants.

Illinois Bill Reinstating FOIA Fee-Shifting (03/10/2003)
In an effort to encourage use of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to access information, Illinois State Reps. Barbara Flynn Currie and Mary K. O'Brien have introduced House Bill 438 to the Illinois state legislature. The bill would provide reimbursement for court costs and attorney fees for individuals who are successful in lawsuits brought under the Illinois FOIA. This would ensure that individuals previously constrained due to financial burdens, as well as attorneys who were discouraged by fees, could utilize opportunities to access information and participate in democracy. This bill was passed by the Illinois House on March 4, 2003, and is currently being read by the Senate.

GAO Authority Undermined (03/10/2003)
The recent decision by the General Accounting Office (GAO) to drop its lawsuit against Vice President Dick Cheney likely further weakens the agency’s ability to get information from an already overly secretive administration. The GAO lawsuit set an important precedent as the first time in GAO’s 81 years that the agency sued the Executive Branch in order to obtain information. This raised the struggle for transparency and accountability in government to a new level. Unfortunately, the decision to drop the case will likely strengthen the administration’s resolve to widely withhold information from GAO specifically, but also more broadly from Congress and the general public.

Senate Briefing Focuses on CARE Act and Discrimination (03/09/2003)

On March 10 leaders of civil rights and religious groups held a Senate briefing for members of the Senate and their staff to discuss the serious civil rights and religious liberty problems inherent in the “equal treatment” provisions of S. 272, the version of the CARE Act proposed by Sens. Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Joe Lieberman (D-CT). Another version of CARE, S. 476 has passed the Senate Finance Committee and may reach the floor soon. It has charitable giving and oversight provisions, but not the faith-based provisions in the Santorum-Lieberman “equal treatment” bill. It is expected that the “equal treatment” faith-based language the White House supports will be added to the Finance Committee when it gets to the Senate floor.